Music as Representation of Ethnicity in Asterix Comic Books
Music as Representation of Ethnicity in Asterix Comic Books

Summary/Abstract: This article investigates the role of music in shaping ethnotypes in the comic medium, drawing on imagology, a subject of comparative literature. Music and comics are culturally and socially significant, whereas comics, as a visual art form, are a strong tool for the emergence of stereotypes. Both are relevant in imagological terms. Drawing on Daniel-Henri Pageaux’s imagological method, the image of the Other is analysed at three levels: the word; the hierarchised relationship; and the scenario. The analysis focuses on Asterix albums, depicting Greeks, Spaniards and Swiss, as they incorporate various aspects of foreign cultures in a humorous and satirical tone. How does the authors’ French gaze produce and sustain the image of the foreigner through the representation of music genres, melodies, musicians and musical instruments, both verbally and visually? The article discusses the widening scope of imagology from verbal to graphic texts, as well as the importance of music and comics as cultural manifestations that challenge stereotypes of the Other.

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